This invention relates to solar collectors and in particular to solar collectors having a higher efficiency than those previously described.
There is extensive prior art on solar collectors. The prior art most pertinent to the present invention is found in Class 126, Sub-classes 440, 443 and 900. Representative examples of this prior art comprise the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,069,810; 4,186,725; 4,188,941; 4,287,882; 4,307,710; 4,311,131; 4,287,882; 4,299,201; and 4,413,616; and the publication "Performance of a Black Liquid Solar Collector" by Minardi and Chuang of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, in the book entitled "Solar Energy" Volume 17, Pages 179 to 183 published in 1975 by Pergamon Press.
There are many functional, mechanical and economic difficulties with the prior art. What appear to be appropriate in a theoretical sense turn out to be impractical commercially.
One object of the present invention is to provide a novel solar collector which is relatively inexpensive and commercially feasible. Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the description and claims which follow, taken together with the appended drawings.